Atomizer structure



Aug, 9, W49. L. J. CLARK ET AL ATOMIZER STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 27, 1944 Aug; 9, W4 9. L. J. CLARK ET AL ATOMIZER STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 27, 1944 Patented Aug. 9, 1949 ATOMIZER STRUCTURE Llewellynn J. Clark and William F. Goosmann,

Grand Rapids, Mich, assignors to The Tangleloot Company, Grand Rapids, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application March 27, 1944, Serial No. 528,249

8 Claims.

Our invention relates to an atomizer structure, and more particularly to an atomizer structure inwhich steam generated in a steam boiler is directed through an atomizing or diffusing nozzle tor the atomizing and spraying of liquid insecticities, disinfectants, medicated liquids, or other liquids contained within a receptacle connected with theatomizin-g nozzle structure.

An important object of our invention is to produce an. improved unitary structure readily carried about and containin a receptacle whose contents are to be sprayed, and a steam boiler and its heating means A further object is to provide an improved unitary structure which the liquid container and the boiler and heater assembly are all mounted on a common base for which a detachable cover or hood is provided which seats on the base to be held thereto by readily releasable latching means.

A further object is to provide an electric heater for the: boiler located within the suporting base for the unitary structure and including an electric heater plate on which the boiler is detachably mounted, and circuit terminal structure for receiving the plug of a connecting cord for connecting the heater with an electric supply outlet.

Qther and further important objects of the invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the: specification and the accompanying drawlugs:

On the drawings:

Figure-1' isa side elevation, partly in section-, of the liquid container, boiler and heater element,

with the supporting base and the hood or cover in section;

Figure 2 is an underside view, to reduced scale, of the supporting base structure and the heater assembly;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the structure with the cover removed but showing a portion of the cover in section on line 1'Il--I II of Figure I;

Figurei is a section on plane IV-IV of Figure 3"; and

Figure 5 is a section on plane VV of Figure 3.

A supporting base or frame I0 is of oblong rectangular contour with its" ends semi-circular, and this frame may be formed integral from sheet metal.. It comprises the top wall H from which the flange i2 extends downwardly. Foot members in the form of bars l3 secured to the flange serve to support the structure a sufiicient distance above a table or other support on which the structure may be set. The top wall H has the circular openin it therethrough through which projects the lower end of the liquid container C. This container is supported on the radially inwardly extending ends it of brackets it or spring metal welded or riveted to the wall it around the opening It, the ends [5 being engaged by the bottom wall of the container;

The opening M for the contain-er C is at the forward part of the base l t, and rearwardly from this opening the circular opening I! is provided in the top wall it, and to form this opening IT a portion of the metal of the top wall I! is deflected downwardly to form the circular wall it which at its lower end is deflected radially inwardly to provide the annular seat Hi. The seat l9 serves as a support for th electric heater 20 which com-- prises a circular plate 2t of porcelain or other insulating material in which heating coils 22 are mounted, and on top of this heater the boiler structure B is set with its base adjacent to the heating coils for heating of water in the boiler for the generation of steam. The cylindrical wall of the: boiler and the bottom wall are seamed together to form the flange 723 which surrounds the upper portion of the heater plate 2i to hold the boiler axialalignment on the heater, as is clearly shown on Figure 1.

As shown, the heater plate has a screw 25 extending downwardly from its central point, the screw extending through an opening in a metal plate 26 torecei-ve: nuts 21' which secure the plate ta the screw.- At the rear end of the base l ll is a U-shaped sheet metal terminal bracket 28 whose outer'end's 23- are deflected and are welded to the flange I? of the'supporting base, as clearly shown on Figure 2; The legs of the bracket have ears 39 extending therefrom to which the plate 26 is secured as by screws or bolts 3i. Onthe yoke portion of the bracket 28 are mounted the electric terminal pins 32 and 33 to which an electrical circuit plug may be applied. These pins extend through the yoke part of the bracket and are secured by nuts 34, the pins being insulated fromthe bracket by suitable insulation 35. One terminal 36 of the" heater coil is connected by a conductor 37 with the terminal pin 32. A conductor 58 extends from the other terminal pin 33 upwardly through an opening 39 in the top wall ll of the supporting base for connection with one terminal of a switch structure, the other terminal of the switch structure being connected by a conductor 49 with the other terminal 4! of the heater coil the switch structure being secured to the base top wall H by a support 24. Any suitable type of switch may be employed. The switch shown is provided with a control button 42 by which the heater circuit may be opened or closed.

The boiler structure shown has the filler neck 43 extending from its upper wall, the neck terminating in the flange 44. The neck is threaded to receive a closure cover 45. The flange 44 has a washer or gasket 46 thereon for receiving a flange 41 extending from the cylindrical valve housing 48. When the cover 45 is screwed on, the gasket 46 is compressed between the neck flange 44 and the valve housing flange 4'! to form a sealing connection. The valve housing 48 has in its bottom Wall a passageway 49 which is normally closed by a valve 58 under pressure of a spring between the valve and the top wall of the cover. A washer 52 of sealing material is shown on the bottom of the valve chamber around the passageway 49 against which the valve 56 is normally seated by the spring to close the passageway 49. In the top wall of the cover 45 above the valve chamber is the outlet opening 53. The valve 50 functions as a safety valve. Under steam pressure within the boiler below a predetermined amount, the spring will hold the valve closed, but when the steam pressure becomes abnormal or excessive the spring will yield for opening of the valve for flow of steam through the passageway 49 and out through the outlet 53 until normal steam pressure within the boiler is resumed. When the boiler is to be replenished With water, the cover 45 is unscrewed from the neck 43 and the valve structure is removed so that water may be poured in through the neck 43. It is evident that the valve housing 49 could be permanently secured to the cover top as by Welding the flange 41 thereto.

The steam generated in the boiler B is delivered through a tube 54 into the end of the atomizer nozzle structure 55, the steam flow drawing liquid from the container C into the nozzle through a pipe 56 extending into the container and coupled at its upper end to the end of the inlet tube 51 of the nozzle structure. The container shown is substantially the container disclosed in our copending application Serial No. 528,250, filed March 27, 1944, now Patent No. 2,424,151. It has the threaded neck 58 for receiving a cover (not shown) a thin sheet metal sealing plug 59 being seated in the mouth of the neck. The tube 56 projects upwardly through the opening 65 in the sealing plug and is secured thereto so that when the container cover is removed, the upper end of the tube 56 may receive the end of the liquid inlet tube 51 of the nozzle structure. The hot steam will atomize the liquid and the intermixed atomized liquid and steam will be projected from the nozzle tip 6! in the form of a spray.

For attaching the steam outlet tube 54 to the boiler, an annular bushing 62 is inserted outwardly through the opening 63 in the boiler top wall, the end of the tube 54 being seated in this bushing, and a cap 64 threads on the outer end of the bushing to compress packing material 65 around the tube.

The spring brackets l6 function to hold the container up with the end of the pipe 56 inserted in the end of the inlet tube 51. When a fresh container is to be installed, it is pushed down against the spring brackets and the end of the pipe is aligned in the end of the tube and then the upward pressure of the brackets will hold the container up to maintain connection between the pipe and tube.

The cover or hood structure 66 is dome shaped and of oblong cross-section and may be formed integral from sheet metal. Around its peripheral edge the top wall I l of the base I8 is deflected upwardly to form a bead 61 which will surround the lower edge of the cover when it is set on the base structure. The front wall of the cover is deflected outwardly to form a vertical stiffening rib 68, and the bead 61 has the recess 69 therein (Figure 3) into. which the lower end of the rib projects to assist in holding the cover properly aligned on the base [0. Adjacent to the bead recess 69 and just inside of the bead, the top wall II of the base has slots 70 therethrough. Extending from the lower edge of the cover for engagement in these slots are tongues H which are directed forwardly but inclined downwardly from the horizontal. At its rear end the top wall ll of the base has slots 12 extending therethrough just inside of the bead 61, these slots serving to receive tongues 13 depending from the edge of the cover. Two slots 12 and two tongues are shown at equal distances from the center line of the base structure and the tongues have the hook ends 14 on their opposed edges, as clearly shown on Figure 4. When the cover is to be applied to the base structure it is tilted slightly so that the tongues H may be inserted through the slots 10 and the cover rib 68 inserted into the bead recess 69. The cover is then swung down against the base top for passage of its hooked tongues down through the slots 12. Means are provided for engaging with the hook ends of the tongues to latch the cover in its closing position. A V-shaped spring 75 is secured at its bend by a clamp l6 against the under side of the base top wall II with its legs extending across the respective slots 12. When the cover is swung down against the base, the tongues 13 will pass down through the slots 12 along the outer sides of the spring legs, the inclined end edges 14' of the tongues engaging the spring legs to swing them toward each other until the hook ends of the tongues have passed the spring legs which will then snap into position against the tongues over their hook ends and thus latch the cover in closed position. In order that the latch spring may be readily released for removal of the cover, the outer ends of the spring legs are deflected upwardly through slots I1 provided in the bead 61, and these spring ends terminate in loops 18. By bringing these loops together with the fingers, the spring legs will be withdrawn from the hook ends of the tongues so that the cover may be released and removed from the base I0.

When the cover is in closed position the atomizer nozzle tip 6| will be in alignment with the opening 19 in the cover rib 68. In the rear wall of the cover the opening 88 is provided through which the switch button 42 may be manipulated, and in the rear wall of the base flange [2 is the passageway 8| through which a cord plug may be inserted for engagement with the heater circuit terminal pins 32 and 33 for connecting the heater with a supply outlet. A handle 82 is secured at its front end to the forward part of the cover to extend rearwardly along the cover top, as shown on Figure With the arrangement shown, the grip end of the handle is substantially over the center of gravity of the atomizer structure so that it may be conveniently carried about for service. When the cover is in closed position on the base all the operating parts of the structure are enclosed and protected.

The plate 26 located below the heater and the circuit terminal structure will function as a shield to prevent contact with the top heaterplate and the terminal pins and the various electric conductors from the bottom of the structure.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range Without departing from the principles of this invention and it is therefore not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an atomizer structure of the type described, a sheet metal supporting base comprising a top wall and a depending peripheral flange, a portion of the metal of said top wall being deflected downwardly and radially inwardly at its lower end to form a cylindrical recess and an annular seating flange, an electric heater plate seated on said flange at the bottom of said recess, a cylindrical boiler projecting at its lower end into said recess to be removably seated on said heater for heating of water in the boiler by the heater coils, a terminal bracket within said base secured to the walls thereof, circuit terminals on said bracket, said base flange having an opening for entry of a, circuit terminal plug into said base for engagement with said terminals, and a switch on said base included in circuit with the heater coils and said terminals for controlling said heater.

2. In an atomizer structure of the type described, a sheet metal supporting base comprising a top wall and a depending peripheral flange, a portion of the metal of said top wall being deflected downwardly and radially inwardly at its lower end to form a cylindrical recess and an annular seating flange, an electric heater plate seated on said flange at the bottom of said recess, a cylindrical boiler projecting at its lower end into said recess to be removably seated on said heater for heating of water in the boiler by the heater coil-s, a terminal bracket within said base secured to the walls thereof, circuit terminals on said bracket, said base flange having an opening for entry of a circuit terminal plug into said base for engagement with said terminals, a switch on said base included in circuit with the heater coils and said terminals for controlling said heater, and a shield plate below said heater supported at its inner end by said heater and supported at its outer end by said terminal bracket.

3. In an atomizer structure for the purpose described, a supporting base having a depression therein and a liquid container seated in said depression, a second depression in said base, an electric heater plate seated in the bottom of said second depression, a boiler detachably seated on and to be supported by said heater plate, a sprayer nozzle structure connected with said boiler and said container, terminals within said base for said heater plate and a switch for the heater circuit mounted on said base, said base having an opening in its side for insertion of an electric supply circuit plug for engagement with the heater circuit terminals.

4. In an atomizer assembly, a supporting base, a generator of fluid under pressure mounted on said base, a sprayer nozzle connected with the generator to receive the fluid under pressure and having an inlet for liquid to be atomized, a container for the liquid to be atomized having a discharge pipe mounted therein and projecting a distance outwardly from the p th f for nnection to said sprayer nozzle inlet, and a, spring seat provided on said base for said container for urging said container upwardly to hold the container outlet pipe connected to the sprayer nozzle inlet.

5. Inan atomizer structure for the purpose described, a sheet metal supporting base comprising a top wall and a peripheral depending flange, an opening in said top wall, a container for liquid to be difiused projecting through said opening, supporting brackets depending from said top wall to receive the bottom of said container for support thereof, a portion of said top wall being deflected downwardly and then inwardly to define a recess terminating in an annular supporting seat, an electric heater plate in the bottom of said recess resting on said seat and having heating coils, a boiler removably seated on said heater for generation of steam, a, terminal bracket mounted within said base and having terminals thereon for said heater coils for reception of a current supply plug, a plate secured to said terminal bracket and extending below said heater and detachably secured thereto, and a sprayer nozzle structure connected with the boiler and with said container,

6. In an atomizer structure for the purpose described, a supporting base comprising a top wall and a peripheral depending flange, an opening in said top wall, a container for liquid to be diffused projecting through said opening, supporting brackets depending from said top wall to receive the bottom of said container for support thereof, a portion of said top wall being deflected downwardly and then inwardly to define a recess terminating in an annular supporting seat, a heater plate in the bottom of said recess resting on said seat, a boiler removably seated on said heater for generation of steam and a sprayer nozzle structure connected with the boiler and with said container.

7. In an atomizer structure, a base, a steam generating boiler mounted thereon, an outlet tube extending from said boiler, a sprayer nozzle at the discharge end of said outlet tube, an inlet pipe for liquid to be sprayed connected to said nozzle, the base having a recess, a liquid container for insertion in said recess, an outlet pipe extending from near the bottom of said container and projecting a short distance from said container for coupling with the inlet tube of the sprayer nozzle, and a spring support in said recess for the container for urging the container outlet pipe and the sprayer nozzle inlet tube into coupling relationship.

8. In an atomizer structure, a base, a steam generating boiler mounted on said base, an outlet pipe extending from said boiler for the flow of steam therefrom, a sprayer nozzle on the discharge end of said pipe, an inlet tube connected to said sprayer nozzle and having a downwardly extending open end, a liquid container, said base having an opening for receiving said liquid container, an outlet pipe extending from near the bottom of said container to project a short distance upwardly from said container for coupling with the open end of said sprayer nozzle inlet REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 10 file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Koerner Dec. 2, 1930 15 Number Number 8 Name Date Lambertus et a1 Oct. 24, 1933 Dougherty et a1. June 19, 1934 Katzman Sept. 10, 1935 Tsutsumi Apr. 7, 1936 Rosenberg Sept. 28,1937 Cummings Sept. 20, 1938 Roe et a1, Nov. 8, 1939 Davidson Mar. 4, 1941 Clark et a1. Nov. 14, 1944 Miller Nov. 2'7, 1945 

